Plane Slides Off Taxiway Before Takeoff at Pittsburgh Airport

A Delta Air Lines flight with almost 80 people onboard slid off the taxiway at Pittsburgh International Airport on Wednesday evening, officials said.

Flight 2231 was departing for Atlanta at around 6.30 p.m. when it "exited a taxiway" before takeoff, according to a statement posted on the airport's Twitter page.

No injuries were reported and buses were dispatched to the Boeing 717 to help passengers disembark, officials said.

Eleanor Sharp, a passenger on the plane, told Newsweek: "We were taxiing about to take off and, all of a sudden, we slid downward abruptly and then there was this horrific noise."

She added: "Everything jerked and the lights went off and then it was silent."

Despite this, Sharp said everyone on the plane stayed calm.

The passengers were stuck on the 717 for almost three hours after the incident, she said, as first responders tried to work out the best way to get them off the plane safely.

"They just had to troubleshoot ... because [of] the angle the plane and how icy it was, it was hard to get us out," she said.

Sharp shared a picture of the plane on Twitter shortly after she disembarked.

"Welp, this @delta flight didn't go as planned! grateful to be back on solid ground and for the firefighters and first responders that rescued us tonight!" Sharp wrote alongside the image. "From this angle, 2021 looks a LOT like 2020."

Pittsburgh airport tweeted: "At 6.20 p.m., Delta Air Lines flight number 2231 departing for Atlanta from PIT with 77 individuals on board, exited a taxiway prior to takeoff near Runway 10R.

"No injuries have been reported. Buses have been dispatched to the plane, a Boeing 717, to assist passengers in deplaning. Passengers will be shuttled to the airside terminal."

In a follow-up tweet at about 9.30 p.m., the airport said all 77 people had "safely deplaned" and arrived at the airport terminal.

The tweet said airport emergency crews remained at the site, but the airport was still "open and there has been no impact to other operations."

In a statement to Newsweek, a spokesperson for Delta said: "While on taxi-out prior to departure, Delta flight 2231 from Pittsburgh to Atlanta exited the taxiway paved surface.

"Delta teams worked with the airport authority to safely transport customers back to the terminal. We apologize to our customers for the delay and inconvenience and are working to reaccommodate them as quickly as possible."

The airline provided another flight for the affected passengers.

This article has been updated to include comments from Eleanor Sharp.